Caution: Children At Play

Posted on June 20, 2014

Candice and Amy met when they were 10. They knew in grade school that they would be BFFs! Sure enough, despite going to college in two different cities, their expectations were met. They got married to their husbands, and had kids at about the same time, and lived in the same neighborhood. To top it off, their daughters went to the same school and were BFFs too! The cycle continued.

One day, Candice’s daughter, Amber, came home and told her mom that Jenna, Amy’s daughter, did not want to be Amber’s friend anymore.

“Why?” asked Candice.

“Because Jenna said that you talked about her Mom behind her back,”

Shocked with the allegation and personally offended that Amy had the audacity to allow whatever it is that she was upset about affect the girls’ friendship, Candice snapped back sarcastically.

“Really? What did she say I said?”

“Well, she said that you did not like the lasagna that Auntie Amy brought to our house last weekend for the pot luck and that you made a face when you tried it, and you even complained to another neighbor about it. Is that true, Mommy?” asked the ten-year-old.

“Absolutely not!” Candice responded. “If anything, I told her how good it was and I even thanked her for it. Wait, I even asked her to email me the recipe!” she added, still in shock.

Annoyed, Candice picked up the phone and called Amy and said, “How dare you make up a story and lie to Jenna like this!”

“Now hold on a second,” said Candice. “Let me speak with Jenna and I’ll call you back.”

Well, it so turned out that Jenna made up the story because she was mad that Amy got invited to Zack’s birthday and Jenna didn’t. Since Jenna secretly liked Zack, she was hurt. She made up the story because she was mad that Amber got to go to Zack’s birthday!

Eventually, they all kissed and made up and each one of the girls learned something from it — Moms included!

Caution, parents: when children are at play, check the facts out before you react. It will help you respond instead of react. The difference: A response is a well thought-out reaction.